well played by Wales

Did not expect that game to be that close. well impressed with Wales. Missed Bellamy for the sitter though...can't see him missing that. poor from Ledley for the goal.

I think they played very well, England weren't on the top of their game though to be fair, but Wales looked real quality on the ball just never looked like having that final product that they needed.

I think it was a mistake for us to play the three central midfielders, we just seemed to be weaponless going forward, Milner, Lampard and Barry with no drive going forward, Rooney having to come deep and only the wingers and full backs showing any enthusiasm to get forward. We improved when Milner was allowed to push further forward, I think we lacked pace in the middle and against better opposition we would have been punished for it.

Although Barry is getting his plaudits, I genuinly can't see his merits, having watched all of the first half and the majority of the second I very rarely saw him doing anything other than turning away from goal and playing the ball sideways, he's not exactly brilliant defensively but offers next to nothing going forward, I think if we want to play a holding midfielder Parker is clearly the better option.

Could that partial explain why Barry looked so poor when he was asked to do the defensive duties to allow Lampard to provide the attacking option. Did England look better in the previous game due to have Parker doing the defensive work and allowing Barry the freedom to move forward and support.

I didn't see the game so its only a bit of guess work.

I thought England were a joke today. If you was are to ask me prior to the match what the score would be between the fourth ranked team in the world playing at home against the 117th then I'd have said at least 4-0.

Unfortunately I watched the same old drivel we have all become used to seeing for the past decade.

Leak that's a pretty good and accurate critique on our performance tonight and I hope when you hit your 30's like myself you don't give up on your national team like I have because it does get frustrating seeing the same relentless long ball crap game after game!!!

Well Wales gave a better account of themselves than I anticipated. Another poor showing from Downing (In comparison to others in that position). Lampard was practically anonymous (apart from his miss), but thought Cahill looked solid as Terry's new partner. Reserving judgement on Smalling at right back, would like to see some others given a go but he's done alright so far, just some minor mistakes.

Would have liked to see Walcott fit, his pace can just encourage others to push on further when he starts running. The midfield three sat far too deep for most of the game, no one to create in the middle. If that happens you need your front three to be playing really well to make your team look dangerous.

Im gutted by the result. Finding it hard to take any positives out of it to be honest. Of all the times Earnie chooses to miss a sitter. Pretty poor showing really beating Montenegro then losing like that. We need some mega changes in midfield. Ledley is a waste of time. Collison did naff all. Ramsey did ok. Got man of the match. We should be doing better though

Steffan, when your 117th in the world you shouldn't be expecting much. You's played well tonight though, was a close game.

Its always bizarre for me to watch England treat victories as disasters. There were many positives for England - Downing/ Ashley Young were excellent most of the night - but Wales is the real story here. Even though England should have scored 5 or 6 last time in Cardiff, Wales were up for the fight tonight, and this is hardly unexpected.

We must remember that this is the team that within the last three years Wales were regularly picking players from lower Championship/ league one clubs to start big games; however, most of tonight's first 11 play Premiership football week in week out, and those who don't certainly looked like future prospects. The management's policy of trusting youth and investing in the future is starting to pay off, and there's few injured players at the moment. Even though Bale was the best player on the pitch, many others had excellent games- Ramsey was excellent also. Henessey was very capable- played very well; I thought Darcy Blake had an excellent game - he played really intelligently against testing opposition, and he's certainly one to watch for the future; Neil Taylor showed that he can play at this level, and Collison had a good game considering the year he's had. I was worried Crofts would be a problem against such quality opposition (Wales struggled when he replaced Ramsey last week) but he was well utilized and did his job very well - England's difficulties were certainly partly his fault!
All in all, i'm delighted with the result. The future's looking bright for Wales - and England as well. You guys need to lighten up and actually support your team! The interview with Young and Downing seemed more like a disciplining panel than a winning side celebrating victory.

Alphonsomagnificent wrote:
The future's looking bright for Wales - and England as well.

Now where have we heard this before?!!

Welcome to the board by the way Aplh.

got back from the game about 20 mins ago, wow we were bad! after we scored there was a short period where it looked like we would sort ourselves out but no.

However Earnshaw

Well played to Wales but it was the same old England.

Play 3 donkeys in Lampard, Barry and Milner who have no creative flair in all of their bones combined. Rooney drops deep because they can't pass a ball to him and we have no goalscorers in goalscoring positions.

It's really hard to watch. The only upside was the flanks which we have struggled with for years. Young and Downing looked good for their spot.

I always feel that Rooney would play better in between the midfield and out and out striker. My football knowledge isn't that great but this is what I would play:

----------------------------------------Hart-------------------------------------------
-----Smalling--------------Terry------------Cahill--------------------------Cole------
------------------------------Barry-----------Parker( or Rodwell)---------------------
------Young------------------------Rooney--------------------------------Downing
--------------------------------------Carroll (or Bent)-----------------------------

If Carroll gets his act together, he could be good for England. Like I say my football knowledge is pretty naff but I would play this formation, with Rooney allowed to roam. 4-2-3-1

Good? Bad?

The second half was extremely poor from England and it seemed we were happy to sit on the 1-0, and it nearly cost us. Earnshaw will never miss one like that again, but I'm sure he won't be allowed to forget it, either!

The midfield lacked pace and penetration, and I think Gerrard would have offered that, and Wilshere's range of passing would have given Rooney more to feed on. He was back in his own half far too much, but if he didn't do that, he didn't get the ball!

The wingers looked very good, and Downing was our standout performer I think. Willing to run the ball and create things, whereas Young (despite scoring) seemed a bit more subdued on the left.

There are positives -- we won, some players such as Cahill and Smalling got more experience under their belts and we kept a clean sheet. But our centre midfield needs a reshuffle and when all fit I would say Parker, Wilshere and Gerrard are the right options.

I should also say Wales were very impressive, good football and alot of talent in that side. Will have a good chance of WC qualification if Bale/Ramsey are on form...just lack a top striker to take the chances I reckon.

I agree with Alphonso,

Those interviews with Young, Downing and Capello were a disgrace. As Chiles said - if any other team played badly and left with 3 points, it would be labelled a "champions performance"

They won the game!

Wales were excellent (though I've been here before and I refuse to be drawn into believeing we have a chance of qualifying for the WC based on 2 games). But England won, and are 1 point away from qualification - which I hasten to remind you THEY DIDN'T DO 4 years ago.

The English media are awful. Take the positives where they arise for god's sake

England look a much better team playing 4-2-3-1 than the flat 4-3-3 of last night.

This formation suits England's wide players and means that Rooney is much less isolated.

This formation requires an ttacking midfielder to be stationed behind Rooney in the middle of the 3 and provide both support and attacking movement. Lampard is now too slow for this role. Milner lacks the imagination.

Ashley Young or Wilshere should play there; providing Rooney with support. Parker should also be an automatic choice as he is a much better tackler than the 3 CMs of last night and offers more positional discipline; meaning the team looks much more balanced.

Electric Demon wrote:I agree with Alphonso,

Those interviews with Young, Downing and Capello were a disgrace. As Chiles said - if any other team played badly and left with 3 points, it would be labelled a "champions performance"

They won the game!

Wales were excellent (though I've been here before and I refuse to be drawn into believeing we have a chance of qualifying for the WC based on 2 games). But England won, and are 1 point away from qualification - which I hasten to remind you THEY DIDN'T DO 4 years ago.

The English media are awful. Take the positives where they arise for god's sake

I thought those interviews were an interesting change of tack myself. Quite often they focus on the positives and play down the negatives. This time they went straight for the jugular, so to speak. Rightly so too, IMO.

As an England supporter who has seen the national team flatter to deceive on too many occasions, I think last night was an important reality check, after people started getting carried away after our win against Bulgaria.

Was it just me or did anyone else get a strong sense of deja vu, watching England play Wales? As in, our displays in South Africa? Struggling against opponents we should have beaten easily? At times a neutral would've been hard pressed to tell which was the home side. I don't know about anyone else but I'm still worried England can only turn it on against poor sides and will struggle against teams that are organised and motivated. Wales sure as hell didn't look like a side ranked 117th in the world, anymore than England looked like the 4th best side in the world.

Lets face it, the only reason the media and everyone with an opinion ISN'T giving England a hammering is because Rob Earnshaw missed a sitter that most of us could have scored.

I think it said it all about the game that ITV gave Aaron Ramsey the MOTM award.

Okay, positives: England won the game. The build up play to the goal was good and Young took his chance well. England showed brief flurries of attacking intent. Couldn't fault the lads for commitment or effort either.

Now for the negatives: gave possession away too cheaply and too often. Against better sides we will get punished for this. By and large, our build-up play was wasted by wayward final balls or poor shooting. Defensively, we didn't close Wales down early enough in the second half and allowed them too much possession in and around the 18-yard box.


In summary, I'm not saying England were poor, but lets face it, they did just enough to scrape a win over a team thats now lost 5 of their 6 qualifying games. If they don't improve a hell of a lot, we can look forward to their stay in Poland / Ukraine to be a brief one. Fair play to Wales - they played with spirit and determination. Looks like Speed's also got them playing some pretty decent football too. They defended well for the most part and even without Bellamy they looked dangerous going forward, at times.

another win, means we are only one point away from qualification